Dear Marketers,
Do your research and scheming, gaze on the promised land of affluents (annual income over $100K) and know that while the rich are still careful about how they spend, they can be reached. Digital, social and e- and m- commerce are the keys to reaching the 10% who own the 70% of the wealth in the country.
The team at iiD has spent the past several months working on strategies for brands specifically focused on the affluent in digital and social. And let’s just say we learned a thing or two. Much of this has been looking at established market research such as the Ipsos Mendelsohn and Digitas collaboration ‘The New Wave of Affluence‘ whitepaper which is excellent and eye opening. But a lot of what we’ve come to learn about affluents is from studying how finance, fashion, retail and other brands are reconfiguring their marketing channels to go full force online, in social, on mobile and tablet, and knowing that digital deals appeal to affluent more than one would think. Here are a few gold nuggets we can share…
1. Affluents are strategic shoppers, evaluate products carefully and care about value. Here are a few stats gleaned from the Ipsos study about affluents…
- 64% agree, “I regularly read online reviews of products before making an online purchase.”
- 47% agree, “I regularly read online reviews of products before making a purchase in a retail store.”
- 68% agree, “When I go shopping online, I usually know exactly what I want to buy.”
- 63% agree, “When I go shopping in a retail store, I usually know exactly what I want to buy.”
62% of affluents agree that online shopping sites provide a more convenient shopping experience than in-person retail stores. And coming out of the recession, they still are careful about how they spend and like deals when they can get them. The 25-35 age affluents like and use mobile coupons and as the smartphone is the main device for this emerging affluent, offering deals via SMS text messages and geolocation apps such as Foursquare are highly relevant. One brand in particular, American Express is the one to watch in mobile and social marketing in the credit industry.
2. Affluents prefer digital media more than other media such as TV, magazines or newspapers.
This is counter intuitive to high-end brands who thought affluents hard to reach and until recently have spent most of their advertising budgets in printed glossy magazines or the WSJ. But it makes sense that the rich who own a variety of digital devices from smartphone, PC and tablet go online for most if not all of their information. This is something to think about when working with your media or advertising agency to be sending the right messages in the right places where the affluents are actively looking.
3. Young affluent like to influence their friends in social media.
These are the 25 to 35 high performers making $100-200K who have caught the Facebook bug along with everyone else but what makes them different is they like to lead and influence more than the average Joe. They’ve been raised and educated thinking what they have to say is important and like to recommend experiences like dining and wine tasting as well as let their social circle know about products such as fashion, finance and technology. What do they stand to gain? Today, for young affluents it’s about status in the social realm rather than the country club.
4. Affluents are loyal to brands that provide relevancy, value and user experience.
This three point mantra has become a big deal strategy for us at iiD because brands can really acquire, activate and retain customers if they get this formula right. Relevancy is all about delivering content and social experiences that match who you are or want to be as an individual. Burberry has done this superbly with their youth-oriented rebranding in digital and social channels in the past year. The value equation in my mind is all about delivering deals or chances to earn points in the digital spaces you’re most active in – today this means mobile and social. And user experience is about what it’s always been (although many brands skimp), providing design and functionality that provides a fantastic experience, it builds loyalty with the brand that people want to advocate about.
So marketers, we hope you’re as excited as we are about the potential of doing business in 2012. Winning in digital obviously is easier said than done but the target is well defined, the channels are well known and the technologies are increasingly making it possible to reach affluent consumers whether on their sofa or inside your store.
